


Across the Aisle

by CaptainPassion



Category: Dancing with the Stars (US) RPF, Maksyl - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-04-24
Packaged: 2018-03-25 13:06:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3811630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainPassion/pseuds/CaptainPassion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Future Tensed- a year into the future. One Shot.</p><p>When Meryl sees Maks from across the aisle in the small Manhattan grocery store she almost thinks its like fate again, twisting her into a weird tango of feelings that hurt, soothe, and break open new wounds. What happens when you see the man who changed you're life in so many ways, but the same man you left behind?</p><p>inspired by: Times Square by Emily Kinney (read and listen if you're into it!)</p><p>This one shot is angsty but I try to leave a little hope at the end. I just listened to this song and it made me think of these two in a weird way and then this happened. :) SO, Yeah. Its a kind of current/future day run in. Enjoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Across the Aisle

**Author's Note:**

> Looks like I needed to drabble in the maksyl land again. :) I hope y'all enjoy and thank you for reading.

[ ](http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/jessiborton/media/Screen%20Shot%202015-04-24%20at%207.32.10%20AM_zpsckkc8e5k.png.html)

She tried to swallow the wad of cotton that had formed in the base of her throat as she stared down the grocery store aisle at him. He hadn’t seen her and probably wasn’t expecting to. She certainly hadn’t planned on running into him today… or… ever, really.

He had a bag of apples in one hand as he stared down at a box of something he held in the other, his brow furrowed in concentration. She felt her own hands tighten around the small shopping basket, the metal and plastic clinking under the pressure. She hadn’t seen Maks in a long time- it wasn’t as if they were avoiding each other, things were just different now. Things were different in a lot of ways.

Meryl took a moment and scanned the length of him- just taking in his structure, the tinge of familiarity licking at her bones. He hadn’t changed. But, if she were to be honest, even if he had been 50 years older she would doubt she’d see a change in him. There was something so young about him and that never changed.

What were the chances of running into him, _Maks_ of all people in the middle of a small Manhattan grocery store? Slim to none. Well, so she had figured anyways. She heard a familiar voice playing in the back of her mind _‘like it was meant to be, yeah?’_

The corners of her lips twitched at the memory of his voice and the way the vivid timbre formed those words; silly and simple sentences like that- meaningful, daunting phrases that could make a person listen. Make them feel something.

_Meant to be._

Meryl shook her head at herself. Now she was just being sentimental. Maks pushed the box back on the shelf with a small scowl and stepped back, scanning the area in front of him. Concentration was etched on his face as his chocolate brown eyes scanned the contents of the ledges. She had always appreciated that about him. His concentration. His determination. Even in something as remedial as grocery shopping. Meryl felt a slight bubble of laughter rise in her chest, threatening to push past her lips but swallowed it down.

Maks took a quick step forward again and grabbed another box, a blue one this time, and flipped it over. Probably checking the sodium levels. He still checked that kind of stuff. She rolled her eyes. Old habits _do_ die-hard.

 _Maybe that’s not a bad thing._ And just like that her feet were moving forward down the small aisle and towards him. Old habits.

She walked up to him, towards his back, looking over his shoulder. It was a box of penne noodles. Again the twinge of a smile graced her lips as she bounced the basket of her own groceries off her thighs silently as the memory of Maks checking his noodles almost religiously over bubbling pot flooded her senses.

Maks tossed the box up in the air, like a silent decision then began to turn when he caught a glimpse of her in his peripheral. He turned quickly, brow furrowed, looking down at her. The expression on his face changed from confused to excited to shocked and back to confused like an ebbing wave.

“Hey,” She said softly, her voice sounding small even to her own ears.

“Meryl?”

This time the smile that threatened so many times in the last three minutes actually graced her lips as she nodded, “Hey you.”

Then like a flash his body was pressed against hers, the apples bouncing off her the backpack she had on, the box of penne pasta digging into her left shoulder. She felt herself laughing as she wrapped one arm around his middle, an ostentatious glare of familiarity hitting her like a rolling thunder- strong and growing.

And then, like yet another flash they were apart again.

“I’m- wow- I didn’t… What are you doing here?” He asked, eyes wide, a smile planted firmly on his face.

She glanced down at her basket of bread, toothpaste, deodorant, and avocados and shrugged, “Just picking up odds and ends.”

He glanced down at her basket and raised an eyebrow, “Men’s deodorant?”

She felt a flush of heat roll up her neck, “Not for me.”

There was a slight lilt in his smile but recovered quickly, “No judgment here,” He said jokingly, “You never know anymore.”

“No,” She said nodding, “I guess not.”

There was a pregnant silence after that, both of them just taking the other in for a second. It had only been three years since they’d met but it had felt like eons. The last time she’d really seen him was when she’d done Sway in the summer before. She been offered another spot but her foundation had taken off and she had to decline. After that there was a precipice in their communication.

Things were just different now.

She wasn’t sure how long they stood there looking at each other but it came to an end when a woman pushed through them grabbing for a box of pasta. Meryl stepped back quickly and mumbled a sorry and caught his eyes again- he had seemed as taken back as she was at the encounter.

The woman was gone as quickly as she’d come and that left the two of them staring at each other again, but this time a thick fog of awkwardness filled the voids and cracks in the air around them. Clearing his throat Maks said, “I miss you. I haven’t talked to you in so long. We need to catch up.”

Meryl nodded, the cotton growing in her throat at the idea of spending time with him again, “We do.”

He smirked down at her, bags under his eyes that weren’t there when she’d first caught sight of him. She felt a sense of pressure on her chest at even the possibility that she was causing him any discomfort.

Well, that she was _still_ causing him discomfort.

Meryl looked down at her basket then back at him. He was watching her- always watching- but didn’t make a move to reply. If his hands weren’t full she’d bet that he would be fidgeting with something on his face: his lip, his scruff, or his hair.

_Did he still do that?_

Probably. She felt another twitch of her lips and then his eyes were on her, narrowed in thought, “What’s so funny, Davis?”

Meryl shook her head, “I just- do you still?” She brought her hand to her lip and tugged like he used to.

His smirk turned into a wide toothy grin at her, “You remember that, huh?”

She raised her eyebrows, “Remember? How could I _forget_? You would do it at the funniest times! Or you would ring your hand through you’re hair and just _tug._ Like that one time- do you remember- when we were at you’re parents house for Christmas and you broke that coffee crock- that Sasha had just bought? That really expensive one? You just tugged so hard at you’re hair with your brow furrowed it was seriously the cutest thing and… and..” She felt the words teeter off of her lips at the realization of her words, “And, uhm. Yeah. I just guess it’s hard to forget.”

He was looking down at her like he used to and suddenly she was back to two years ago when he would look at her like she’d just saved children from a burning school house whenever she did anything he thought was even remotely fantastic, his arms crossed over his chest in amusement at her babbling. The heat that had risen on the back of her neck before had come back with a blazing fury, this time reaching her ears.

“You always did have a really great memory.” He said shaking his head slightly. She shrugged, not trusting her voice to sound any other octave than her normal at the moment. Maks took in a deep breath, his chest filling fast causing the space around them to seem smaller. He let out the breath and looked above her for a second then down at her, “Are you busy right now?”

“I’m sorry?”

He shuffled, “Do you think maybe you would wanna get some coffee or something?”

“Oh,” She said shortly as she blinked, “Uhm, well… Okay yeah. I could do that.”

“Yeah?” He asked as if he was genuinely surprised by her answer.

Meryl nodded and tilted her head towards the tills, “I just have to pay for this and I’ll meet you out front?”

He looked her over slowly, his gaze melting over her as if he was trying to decide if he could trust her. Of course he could. That wasn’t even a question.

xxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxx 

Meryl pulled the backpack off of herself and blindly walked out of the store trying her best to shove her items into her bag while navigating the busy storefront. Finally shoving in the last bit she zipped it up and tossed it back over her shoulder as she pushed through the front. She stepped onto the sidewalk and glanced to both sides to find him smoking a cigarette off to the side, his own grocery bag dangling from his free hand.

She almost commented on his smoking. _Almost_. But she decided against it. He had told her a long time ago that if he was smoking again it was for 1 of 3 reasons. 1- He was drinking, 2- He was stressed out, or 3- He was around a habitual smoker more often than not.

The answer could have been either of the last two. She didn’t really know, anymore.

Meryl walked up to him and at her appearance he stubbed it out with the heel of his shoe then flicked it into his pocket, “Ready?”

She nodded and walked to his side as he led the way with his strides. She kept his pace through the busy streets but they were mainly silent, just letting the sounds of the city fill the void instead of their voices. They walked about three blocks before he stopped in front of a small coffee shop she’d never been too called The Carri _bean_ er. She felt herself smile at the pun then looked to her side to see him watching her. “It’s cheesy. I know.”

Meryl shrugged, “I like it.”

He smiled and looked down at her then shook his head before reaching for the door of the shop and waving her in. Meryl walked into the coffee shop and casually crossed her arms as she looked over the menu. She felt when he’d found his way back to her side.

 _Old habits and_ instincts _apparently, die-hard._

She tossed a small smile over her shoulder then squinted up at the board, “What do you normally get?”

“Honestly?” He asked with a small quirk of his eyebrow. She raised both of her own and nodded, “Of course.”

“The hot chocolate with whip cream. And chocolate shavings.”

Meryl smiled at that, “Really?”

“Hey- a man can enjoy his hot chocolate just as much as a teenage girl.”

The bubble of laughter that had taken up residence in her chest finally broke free. She could hear his own chuckle underneath her own and damn those instincts her body moved to lean against him.

It was fast and short, just her shoulder pressing against his side, a momentary bearing of her weight, but they both went rigid at the same time. Meryl took a step to the side further into the line and cleared her throat, pushing her hair back away from her face. She scanned the menu board above her keeping her eyes straight ahead until she was next in line.

“Hi,” She said warmly, “Can I get a small spiced vanilla chai- iced.”

The barista dutifully began punching in her order then when she looked up to give her total Maks stepped forward and said, “I’m going to get hers. I’ll take my regular.”

The barista smiled then punched in another few buttons then looked up, “Do you want the Soy Cap with a double shot or?”

“No,” he said swiftly, “Just the hot chocolate.”

Meryl glanced over at him and then the strings started to connect. Peta. That must be her order. She smirked at the barista as she rang up the rest of the order and took Maks’ money. Peta wasn’t a sore subject for her. She never has been, and never will be. Peta was her friend no matter whom she was dating, but as far as Fedor and Maks… Well that was another story. Another story entirely.

They waited quietly for their drinks and found two small seats across from each other next to a window, the busy streets and people passing by not taking a single notice of whom they were. Meryl sighed and dropped her cup off on the ledge before shuffling off her backpack and setting it at the foot of her chair. She sat down languidly and grabbed for her coffee watching Maks get settled in.

At first the thickness of the air was enough to cut with a knife and that fact alone made Meryl’s skin prickle. If this had been a three years ago- hell even two years ago- thing would be majorly different. There would be no silences, and if there were they wouldn’t be awkward. She wouldn’t feel like she was sitting across from a stranger. She wouldn’t feel an almost sense of…. _Obligation_ …. To be here.

She took a sip of her tea, watching him over the brim as he fiddled with the lid of his own drink staring out the window beside them. There was things they both needed to say. Wanted to say. They just weren’t the Meryl and Maks who could just say things anymore.

Meryl swallowed hard and shifted in her seat before glancing up at him, “So is this you and Peta’s place?”

He shrugged, “Sort of. When we go places. We are- you know- at a break right now.”

“Oh,” She looked at him, searched him, waited. When he didn’t say anything else she licked her lips, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” He said quickly, “Looks like things are going well for you.”

She followed his eyes down to her slender hands and stared down at the ring that graced her left hand and clenched her fist, turning the ring inwards towards her knotting stomach. It was Meryl’s turn to look out the window.

She glanced out then back at him to see him watching her, a frown hard on his face, no light in his eyes. Her tips of her heart turned cold at the sight of the man in front of her. The eternally young disaster that had swept her off her feet, picked her up, knocked her down, turned her around, and then turned her world upside down.

“About that December night,” He said, his voice lower. “I know that I shouldn’t-“

“You shouldn’t,” She said more sharply then she intended. Her eyes fell to the cup in her lap and focused on a drying spot of her drink on the rim, her soul not strong enough to look up- to see him.

“I’m sorry. I’m just so-“ His voice sounded so rough, “I’m just so lost and I don’t even know if I need a laugh or a fight anymore. I have been so lost for so god damned long, Meryl. I’m alone almost all the time and I’m just floating…” He shook his head, “I swear if I could just go back to that month- that _day_.”

“I know,” Her voice strained. She knew that he would. She knew that if they could just hop in a time machine to that night when they left each other at the terminals of that airport he would.

It had been _so late_ and she had to catch a flight to Vegas and she was _so tired_ and they had been fighting- because that’s all they did in the end. Fought. Fought about who should fly where, when they could meet and why couldn’t the other one just come here? The question was always just _why not_?

In the end the question just ended up being _why should I_?

He dropped her off at the terminal and she knew when she turned around to grab her bag from him that it was over. Whatever ride they were on was over. Their love was suddenly spent. All their wishes had been spent and in the end it was home for heartache.

Maks lifted her bag from his shoulder and placed it on hers, not saying a word. His eyes were darker brown than she’d ever seen before- the black of his pupils could bleed into the irises. She closed her eyes and he leaned in pressing a hard kiss to her temple before they both turned around and walked away.

She went home and found comfort in the past and so did he. But that was were most of the similarities ended. She dove into work and publicity while he slinked back into himself. They had met a few months later for a few events and her chest felt raw but it got easier every time she saw him.

He seemed happy enough and she was happy and in the end that’s really what mattered. Happiness. Even if it was with somebody else.

“I just miss you,” He said scrubbing a hand down his face, pressing his thumb and his index fingers into his eyes, “My Meryl. I miss that.”

Meryl swallowed and her instincts, her heart, her _hands_ itched to reach out to him, to cup his jaw and run her thumb along the apples of his cheeks to kiss his lips and just give him something. What could she do for him, though? It’s been too long. It’s been so hard.

Meryl sat her cup on the window sill and slid forward, her small hands pressed against the tops of her thighs, “Maks… Maks I can’t break his heart to fix you. You’ve got to find somebody else." 

He slid forward in his chair and reached across the small space pulling her hands into his lap, his thumb graced the tops of her knuckles, stuttered over the ring he’d seen there then pressed down on it, as if to test the truth- as if to squash the stone into dust.

“There won’t be anyone else,” He said with such conviction that it made her eyes flash to his face, “What can I do, Meryl?”

His eyes moved from their linked hands to match hers and she felt a slam against her chest. She swallowed and blinked quickly then shrugged weakly, “Just hold my hand.”

His hand squeezed hers tight against his palm, the warmth washing over her hand and up her arm, circling her chest wrapping her fully. “I’m scared,” He said lowly, almost so she couldn’t hear him, “Truth is… I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”

Meryl scooted forward and leaned in, pulling her hand away to wrap it around the back of his neck and pull him in, resting her forehead against his. She took a deep, letting the sent of laundry, mint, cologne, and tinge of cigarette smoke to linger inside her nose. Let the smell settle. Imprint deep within her chest.

“Truth is, me either.” She smiled slightly and leaned back looking into his eyes. She could laugh at the irony. One day, just like that, he came flooding back into her life and turning it upside down again. “Like it was meant to be, huh?”

He raised an eyebrow at her and she shook her head then let out a sigh and slid back into her seat just staring at him, etching every single curve and edge of him again, replacing the past image of him in her mind. She liked this one right here- the lost, venerable Maks, shiny and new.

“What was that saying?” He asked, suddenly intruding her thoughts, “That one you used to tell me? The future belongs to those who believe in their dreams?”

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, her heart beating a little faster, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

“Right,” He said, a small smile playing at his own mouth. He leaned back, tugging at the hair on his head. They were quiet for a little while as he stared out the window. Suddenly he stood and looked down at her. There was a sense of calmness about him that was anew. He took a deep breath and let it out grabbing his grocery bag, “I believe in my dreams. You were always one of them.”

Meryl blinked up at him, unable to find a sentence to say back that could be a correct response. He smiled lamely out the window, “I just have to believe that the future belongs to us. You and me. There’s always hope.”

Meryl began to stand but he paused her with the palm of his hand. He finally looked down at her, the lame smile never leaving his lips. He matched her eyes then bent down pressing another firm kiss to her temple, like the last one he’d given her, though this time it was filled with something else.

“Just remember,” He whispered against her hair, “I asked you to marry me first.”

Meryl’s mouth flicked open but no sounds came out. He stood and turned towards the door of the coffee shop. Before pushing it open he glanced over at her and smiled and with a tip of his head he was gone.

He was gone.

 _But not for long._ Her heart echoed within her chest. Because the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

Her future.

Theirs… 

_Because there is always hope._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please please please review! :)


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